POWER, LOVE & SOUND MIND (Part 1-5)

Eric Aboadwe
August 17, 2017 ·

POWER, LOVE & SOUND MIND (Part 1)

Today’s reading of the Word is taken once again from 1st Timothy where it says:
“For God has NOT given us a spirit of FEAR, but of POWER and of LOVE and of SOUND MIND” (2 Timothy 1:7).

So far we have studied in detail the first part of our Scripture reading which says, “For God has NOT given us a spirit of FEAR.” Bu our focus and attention will now be on the second part which says, “but of POWER and of LOVE and of SOUND MIND.” So what is this “POWER,” what is this “LOVE,” and what is the “SOUND MIND” spoken here?

First of all when the Scripture says that God has giving us “POWER,” it is the “POWER” of God by the manifestation of the “Holy Spirit.” This “POWER” begun its work in us right from the beginning of creation. Therefore when the Word of God says that, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was WITHOUT FORM, and VOID; and DARKNESS was on the face of the deep. And the SPIRIT OF GOD was hovering over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:1-2), we must know that it was the beginning of the SALVATION work of the TRINITY.

After the fall of man, we were “WITHOUT FORM” and “VOID,” and the “DARKNESS” of SIN was on the “face” of our heart where God told us that our SINS are recorded (Jeremiah 17:1), and where JESUS also told us that it is inside the “heart” (earth) that defilement comes from (Mark 7:15).

Therefore when our reading says that God has given us “POWER,” it is referring to God’ transformation “POWER” by which our “Old Man” (Romans 6:6) was “REGENERATED” into the image of the Son of God’s (JESUS CHRIST). Paul explains the manifestation of this “POWER” of the “Holy Spirit” by phrasing it as “The washing of REGENERATION and RENEWING of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5).

Even in the midst of our formless, void and dark image of SIN, God said, “Let there be LIGHT”; and there was LIGHT” (Genesis 1:3). This “LIGHT” illuminated our souls when JESUS was baptized to take our SINS upon Himself, died, and resurrected. This is the main reason why after we were born again of the “water” and the “POWER” of the “Spirit” (John 3:5), we are called “SONS OF LIGHT” (1 Thessalonians 5:5).

When the Word of God says that, “In Him was LIFE, and the LIFE was the LIGHT of Men, and the LIGHT shines in the DARKNESS, and the DARKNESS did not comprehend” (John 1:4-5), we must know that the “LIGHT” spoken here refers to JESUS CHRIST who gave “LIFE” to the SINFUL human beings who were living in the DARKNESS of SIN. That’s why He said that, “I am the LIGHT of the world, He who follows Me shall not DARKNESS, but have the LIGHT of LIFE” (John 8:12).

God’s transformational “POWER” does the work of changing human beings from SINFULNESS to RIGHTEOUSNESS, and from DARKNESS to LIGHT. And since JESUS acted on our behalf for our SALVATION in order for the Holy Spirit to implement the transformation, those who are born of the “Spirit” has His “POWER” which works in them. That’s why Paul told the Ephesians, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the POWER that work in us” (Ephesians 3:20).

Every Christian must know that it is by being saved from SINS that we come to understand God’s “POWER.” If God cannot save you from your SINS once and for all, then where is His “POWER?” When God said “Let there be LIGHT” was DARKNESS still in place? And when God saves a SINNER from SIN and He says “Their RIGHTEOUSNESS is from ME” (Isaiah 54:17), are they still SINNERS?

But it is so unfortunate that many Christians believe in “STRANGE POWERS” of performing miracles of the FLESH whiles their “spirit” and “soul” is not transformed by being “born again” in the TRUE GOSPEL of our Lord JESUS. Many pastors, prophets, and the evangelists of today are exorcising some “POWERS” which are not from God.

Therefore God said, “An ASTONISHING and HORRIBLE thing has been committed in the land. The prophets prophesy FALSELY, and the priest rule by their OWN POWER; And My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the END?” (Jeremiah 5:30-31). Here God is saying that there are many FALSE pastors and prophets who are performing miracles which is not from Him. That’s why He said, “And the priest rule by their OWN POWER.”

These FALSE pastors and prophets use the name of God to do SIGNS and WONDERS, but their followers are still “SINNERS” who do not know the gospel of being born again. If the pastors and the prophets were ruling by God’s “POWER,” then their followers would have become “RIGHTEOUS” people. But because they are ruling by “their OWN POWER,” they are doing their “OWN” things which are “evil” before God’s eyes.

Therefore God speaks against the false pastors and prophets who are deceiving their congregation by telling them, “But what will you do in the END?” Here we must understand that JESUS is the “Word” which God spoke, and therefore when the “Word became FLESH” (John 1:14), He told us about the “END” of these false prophets.

He said, “Many will say to Me that day (in the END), ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many WONDERS in Your name?” And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice LAWLESSNESS” (Mathew 7:22).

We must know that it is completely “LAWLESSNESS” for a pastor to perform physical MIRACLES by using the “name” of JESUS whiles he cannot preach the gospel which makes “SINNERS” become “RIGHTEOUS” which is the GREATEST MIRACLE. The false pastors and prophets preach and tell people that they are “SANCTIFIED” gradually. Therefore God says they “rule by their OWN POWER.” But what does the “POWER” of God say to us? It tells us that, “By that will have been SANCTIFIED through the offering of the body of JESUS CHRIST once for all” (Hebrews 10:10).

It is really unfortunate that many Christians believe in pastors and prophets who “rule by their OWN POWER,” and they try to wash away their SINS through the “PRAYERS OF REPENTANCE.” Christians are supposed to be followers of CHRIST, but now they have become followers of false pastors and prophets. That’s why God said that “And My people love to have it so.”

Therefore because these pastors and prophets rule by their “OWN POWER,” those who believe in their sermons are still “SINNERS.” However those who believe in God’s “POWER” are made “RIGHTEOUS” through the water and the blood of JESUS CHRIST “once for all.”

Every Christian must make a wise decision for himself either to believe in God’s “POWER” or to believe in the pastors and the prophets who “rule by their OWN POWER.” Choosing any of these will determine whether a person is “RIGHTEOUS” or he is still a Christian “SINNER.”

Our study continues, and so having studied the “POWER” which God has given to us in our Scripture reading today, we will take a look at the remaining two which is “LOVE” and “SOUND MIND” the next day.

BLESSED are those who KNOW and BELIEVE in these things with all their hearts.





POWER, LOVE & SOUND MIND (Part 2)

Our Scripture reading is taken once again from 1st Book Timothy where it says:

“For God has NOT given us a spirit of FEAR, but of POWER and of LOVE and of SOUNDMIND” (2 Timothy 1:7).

We thank God for another day and for speaking to us through His holy “Word.” We are who we are today in CHRIST because of His “Word,” and we shall forever be the same in Him due to this same “Word.” This is because JESUS our LORD who is the “Word” is forever unchanging(Hebrews 13:8).
In the previous day, I made mention in our studies that our focus was going to be on the“POWER” which God has given to us for that very day so that today our study will be centered on the “LOVE” and the “SOUND MIND.” However the LORD still has more to tell us concerning the “POWER,” and therefore we will still concentrate on the “POWER.”

When the Apostle Paul says in our Scripture reading that God has “given us POWER,” it confirms the words of the LORD JESUS when He said, “Behold, I give you AUTHORITY to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the POWER of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19).

Many Bible believers of today especially the “PENTECOSTALS” are so much interested in the words of JESUS above and they love it so much. But it is very sad that while they are interestedin the Words of JESUS spoken above, they are NOT interested in the Word of JESUS when He said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, UNLESS a man is born of WATER and the SPIRIT, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God” (John 3:5).

As a result, they are not interested to know the “mystery” of the “WATER” of JESUS’ BAPTISM in order to “purify” themselves once and for all from SIN. However they are interested in obtaining “POWER” and “AUTHORITY” to cast out demons. But every CHARISMATIC, “PENTECOSTAL,” and Bible BELIEVER must know that, nobody can cast out “devils” if he is still a Christian SINNER.

When JESUS says, “I give you AUTHORITY to trample on serpents and scorpions,” He is talking about the “POWER” given to the truly born again Saints over Satan and his demonic angels. Sometimes I wonder whether most of the Christians of today have forgotten that it is Satan who made human beings SINNERS. Therefore if they are still SINNERS who must be forgiven every day, then how can they “cast out” Satan the devil who is their father?

JESUS said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, a SERVANT is not greater than his MASTER, nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him” (John 13:16). So the question is “How can a SINNER “cast out” the “MASTER” of SIN who is called the great Dragon, the Serpent of Old, the Devil, and Satan?” (Revelation 12:9). Anybody who is “A slave of SIN” and who is begging God for the forgiveness of SINS everyday through his prayers of repentance has “NO POWER”or “AUTHORITY” over Satan who is the “MASTER” of SINNERS.

This is why when the Pharisees and the Jews spoke against JESUS on two occasions that “HE cast out demons by the RULER of demons” (Matthew 9:34) and that He “does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the RULER of the demons” (Matthew 12:24), Jesus answered them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?” (Matthew 12:25-26).

Many pastors and Christians read the Bible but they don’t understand because they are not TRULY born again of God’s RIGHTEOUSNESS fulfilled by JESUS CHRIST. Here the LORD of Host is telling us that there is no way for SINNERS to “cast out” their “RULER” who is called “Satan.”

If JESUS said that a SERVANT is not greater than his MASTER, nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him,” it also means that false pastors and prophets are not “greater” than Satan who “sent” them, and therefore they cannot “cast out Satan.” If they think they are able to “cast out Satan” and his “demons,” then they must know that the Devil is just using them to make entertainment in their churches which JESUS refer to as “the synagogue of Satan” (Revelation 2:9).

We must not forget that JESUS told us in the passage that Satan also has his own “kingdom,”and therefore if a “PENTECOSTAL” Christian-Sinner were to drive away “Satan” and his“demons,” JESUS is asking the “PENTECOSTALS” and the CHARISMATIC Christians this rhetorical question: “If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?”

Here JESUS is telling us that when a pastor is still a SINNER who has been telling his congregation that they are all SINNERS and therefore they must confess their SINS everyday in order to be forgiven, JESUS is saying that such people cannot “cast out” Satan the originator and “RULER” of SIN. If some people think it is possible, JESUS asking them “How then will his kingdom stand?”

Therefore when our Scripture reading says that God has given us “POWER,” we must know that this “POWER” is given to only those who believe in the “RIGHTEOUSNESS” of God fulfilled by JESUS baptism, His blood and resurrection. And if you will recall, in one of our Bible studies some few months ago, I told you that the disciples of JESUS were able to “cast out demons”because at that time JESUS had already accepted upon Himself “the SIN of the world” (John 1:29) which includes the SINS of the disciples when He was BAPTIZED by John the Baptist.

This is why they were able to drive away “demons” and “devils” even though at that time JESUS had not yet DIED on the Cross. This is all because they believed in the WATER baptism of JESUS by which “all RIGHTEOUSNESS” was “fulfilled” (Matthew 3:15). Every Christian must understand that the moment God TRANSFERRED our SINS on JESUS, the problem of SIN was not longer with us, but it was handed over to JESUS for Him to solve it. This understanding is the “secret” of SALVATION. That’s why those who don’t know and believe in this are still SINNERS.

It is JESUS who dealt with the problem of our SINS and not we ourselves. Due to this, God gave the disciples “POWER” and “AUTHORITY” over Satan and his hosts. When John the Baptist laid “the SIN of the world” on JESUS, He immersed JESUS deep down the “WATER” which signify His “DEATH.” Then He raised JESUS from the “WATER” which signify His“RESURRECTION.”

To have this kind of FAITH in JESUS is the “POWER” which enabled the disciples to return with “Joy” saying, “LORD, even the demons are subject to us in Your name” (Luke 10:17).And when they spoke these words, JESUS confirmed it by saying, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18). However notwithstanding this, JESUS told them the GREATEST BLESSING when He said, “Nevertheless do not REJOICE in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather REJOICE because your NAMES are WRITTEN in Heaven” (Luke 10:20).

Brothers and Sisters, I just want us to pause here to observe another “mystery.” Here too we can see that even though JESUS had not yet “DIED” on the Cross at that time and resurrected, He told the disciples that their “NAMES are WRITTEN in Heaven.” But the question is “HOW COME?” This is because when JESUS was BAPTIZED in order to “take away the SIN of the world” the Scripture says that, “...And behold, the Heavens were OPENED to Him” (Matthew 3:16).

If JESUS tells the disciples, “REJOICE because your NAMES are WRITTEN in Heaven,” we must understand that it is His BAPTISM which “OPENED” the “Heavens” in order for the“NAMES” of the disciples who believe in the “WATER” to be “WRITTEN in Heaven.” This is the reason why the Apostle Peter said that the “WATER” Baptism of JESUS is an “ANTITYPE”which SAVED us from SIN (1 Peter 3:21).

Therefore when the Apostle Paul says that God has given us “POWER,” we must know that we received this “POWER” through our FAITH in the water, the blood and the resurrection of JESUS CHRIST.

Our study on the “POWER” continues..........





Eric Aboadwe
August 19, 2017 ·

POWER, LOVE & SOUND MIND (Part 3)

Our Scripture reading is taken from the Book of Timothy once again where it says:

“For God has NOT given us a spirit of FEAR, but of POWER and of LOVE and of SOUND MIND” (2 Timothy 1:7).

Brethren, we are still on this passage of Scripture because the LORD wants us to know and understand His “POWER.” This is because we cannot comprehend what the Apostle Paul meant by God has given us “POWER” if we don’t know God’s “POWER.” And Paul did not only talk about the “POWER” which God has “given us,” but in his preaching and teachings, he spoke about the fact that our “FAITH” should be in God’s “POWER” before we can understand that He has “given us POWER.”

For this reason, he said, “And my SPEECH and PREACHING were not with persuasive words of human WISDOM, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of POWER, that your FAITH should not be in the WISDOM of men but in the POWER of God” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5). This shows clearly that in our Scripture reading from 2 Timothy 1:7, Paul was also drawing our minds to the “POWER of God.”

When Paul says that, “And my SPEECH and PREACHING were not with PERSUASIVE words of human WISDOM,” it means that his preaching were not based on the “doctrines of men” who say that because human beings commit SINS every day, they must be “sanctified” GRADUALLY, and they must also obey the LAW of Moses in order to enter the “Kingdom of God.”

That’s why he told the Galatians, “This PERSUASION does not come from Him who CALLS you” (Galatians 5:8). We must therefore know that many Christians doctrines are PERSUASIONS which “does not come from Him” (God) who CALLED us. For example, there is a GOSPEL which says that believing in the “BLOOD” of JESUS alone is enough to SAVE us from SIN. However Paul says that “This PERSUASION does not come from Him” (God) who CALLED us.

Every Christian must understand that when God “calls” a SINNER, He does so in order for him to come to JESUS and believe in Him as his LORD and Saviour who “came by WATER and BLOOD; not only by WATER, but by WATER and BLOOD” (1 John 5:6). Therefore when a Christian doctrine teaches that JESUS “came only by BLOOD,” the Apostle Paul whom God raised as the GREATEST among the Apostles is telling us that “This PERSUASION does not come from Him who CALLS you” (Galatians 5:8).

He said that any gospel which lays emphasis on the works of men such as physical circumcision, obeying the LAW of Moses, and any attempts by human beings to wash away their SINS GRADUALLY through “The Prayers of Repentance” is a kind of “FAITH” which based on “the WISDOM of men” and not in “the POWER of God”

But as for Paul, he said that, “And my SPEECH and PREACHING were not with PERSUASIVE words of human WISDOM, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of POWER, that your FAITH should not be in the WISDOM of men but in the POWER of God.”

Here we must understand that when Paul talks about the “demonstration of the Spirit and of POWER,” He is talking about the gospel of being “born again of the water and the Spirit” (John 3:5) which JESUS gave to mankind as the “POWER” to deliver Adam and his descendants from Satan, SIN, death, and darkness once for all.

This is the reason why Paul told the Romans, “For I am not ASHAMED of the GOSPEL of CHRIST, for it is the POWER of God to SALVATION for everyone who BELIEVES, for the Jews first and also for the Greek. For in it the RIGHTEOUSNESS of GOD is revealed from FAITH to FAITH; as it is written, “The JUST shall live by FAITH” (Romans 1:16-17).

Brothers and Sisters, have you seen that Paul laid so much emphasis in his preaching about “the POWER of God” which has SAVED us from SIN? The “Holy Spirit” made Paul to write these things to us, and He is teaching us that our FAITH “should not be in the WISDOM of men,” but rather it must be in “the POWER of God to SALVATION.”

And unless we understand this, we will never know the “POWER” which God has given to us which Paul spoke about in our Scripture reading from 2nd Timothy. If Paul says that the “GOSPEL of CHRIST” is the “POWER of God to SALVATION,” and he also says that “For in it the RIGHTEOUSNESS of God is revealed from FAITH to Faith,” it means that God’s “RIGHTEOUSNESS” is the “POWER” which has SAVED the humankind from SIN once and for all.

This “RIGHTEOUSNESS” was fulfilled for mankind by JESUS when He was baptized. Therefore if JESUS spoke to John the Baptist by saying, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting to fulfill ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Matthew 3:15), then we must know that it is this “RIGHTEOUSNESS” which the Apostle Paul was talking about in Romans that it is “revealed from FAITH to Faith.”

This is “the POWER of God to SALVATION for everyone who BELIEVES.” However, when Paul says “everyone who BELIEVES,” many Christians think that they can just BELIEVE in JESUS anyhow and be SAVED. But Paul himself defined “FAITH” as “the substance of things hoped for, the EVIDENCE of things NOT SEEN” (Hebrews 11:1). In other words our FAITH should not be in a “vacuum” but it must have a “substance.”

It means that when JESUS was born by the Virgin, and He got BAPTIZED by John the Baptist for our SINS to be transferred to Him in order for “ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS” to be fulfilled, dying and resurrecting, we weren't there, and we didn't SEE it with our eyes. We didn't actually SEE our SINS moving over to JESUS, and this is “the EVIDENCE of things NOT SEEN.”

Therefore when Paul says that “FAITH is the substance of things hoped for, the EVIDENCE of things NOT SEEN,” It means when Isaiah prophesied by the Spirit and he said that “And the LORD has LAID on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6), we must know that this prophecy was fulfilled when JESUS was BAPTIZED, and it was “the substance of things HOPED for,” and the “EVIDENCE of things NOT SEEN” (Hebrews 11:1).

But because many Christians did not SEE their SINS moving over to JESUS with their physical eyes when He was BAPTIZED, they don’t believe that JESUS has made them “RIGHTEOUS.” As a result, they cannot live in the SPIRITUAL domain of “FAITH,” and they will never understand the “POWER” of God.

Therefore when Paul says that God has “given us POWER,” we must know that He gave this “POWER” to those who believe in “the GOSPEL of CHRIST” which is “the POWER of God to SALVATION for everyone who BELIEVES.”

Our study on the “POWER” continues........

You are immensely BLESSED!





POWER, LOVE & SOUND MIND (Part 4)
We will take our Scripture reading from Timothy again. It says:
“For God has NOT given us a spirit of FEAR, but of POWER and of LOVE and of SOUND MIND” (2 Timothy 1:7).
We thank God for leading us in the path of righteousness through His Word, and for His mercy which follows us all the day of our life (Psalm 23:3,6). We are also thankful to Him for the POWER of His voice spoken to us which is full of majesty (Psalm 29:4), and for enriching us spiritually with the mysteries in the Word.
Our LORD has “given us POWER” because the Psalmist also confirmed that He is “mighty in POWER” (Psalm 147:5). When Apostle John who was our brother and companion in the Kingdom of CHRIST was on the Island of Patmos for the Word of God and for the Revelation of JESUS CHRIST (Revelation 1:9), he saw all the angels, elders, and the living creatures worshiping God and saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and POWER and MIGHT, be to our God forever and ever. Amen” (Revelation 7:12).
If the Word says that “POWER and MIGHT, be to our God forever and ever,” we must understand that this same “POWER” of God has SAVED us from our SINS “forever and ever” through our Lord JESUS. Therefore since “POWER” belongs to our God “forever and ever,” Christians should not limit God as someone who cannot SAVE them from their SINS.
Even though Satan made us SINNERS, God has also made us “RIGHTEOUS” by the “POWER” of CHRIST baptism, His blood, and His resurrection. However if Christians think that God cannot SAVE them from SIN, and for that matter He cannot make them “RIGHTEOUS,” then they are saying that “POWER and MIGHT” belongs to Satan “forever and ever.”
This is NOT what the Word of God was telling us. Satan has made many religious people to believe that “POWER” belongs to him, and that nobody can deliver SINNERS out of his hand. But this is NOT TRUE. Therefore the reason why many religious people will go to “hell” is because they believe in the “lies” of Satan.
We must know that “POWER and MIGHT” belongs to JESUS CHRIST, and therefore He has the “POWER” to redeem us from our SINS perpetually. That’s why after SAVING us from our SINS, He said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me, and I give them ETERNAL LIFE, and they shall NEVER PERISH; neither shall anyone SNATCH them out of My hand” (John 10:27-28).
Dearly beloved, when JESUS says that He has given you “ETERNAL LIFE” and so you “shall NEVER PERISH,” and that no one can “SNATCH” you out of His “hand,” it is confirming the fact that “POWER and MIGHT” belongs to Him “forever and ever.” This is the reason why God told us in Isaiah, “Is My hand shortened at all that it cannot REDEEM? Or have I no POWER to deliver? Indeed with My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness” (Isaiah 50:2b).
God is asking all human beings including Christian-SINNERS, “Is My hand shortened at all that it cannot REDEEM? Or have I no POWER to deliver? There are Christians who cling to their church doctrines of GRADUAL purification and daily repentant prayers which reduces the “POWER” of God to nothing. They follow “doctrines” which has made JESUS a FAILURE who cannot “REDEEM” them from their SINS. This is very fatal.
It is deplorable that the FAITH of many Christians today is just like those practicing Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Shintoism, Sikhism, etc. However Christianity is not a “religion,” but it is “LIFE.” That’s why the Scripture says that in CHRIST “was LIFE, and the LIFE was the LIGHT of men” (John 1:4). This is why those who follow “CHRIST” are called “CHRISTIANS” (Acts 11:26) because they have His “LIFE” and they follow Him.
But the reason why many are still SINNERS is not because God does not have the “POWER” to SAVE them from SIN, but rather it is because they don’t believe in the sacrificial work of JESUS CHRIST, but they rather believe in “the wiles of the Devil” (Ephesians 6:11). This “wiles of the Devil” is what is preventing many Christians from believing in the “POWER” of the baptism, the blood, and the resurrection of JESUS.
And because many are ignorant of the TRUE GOSPEL and of God’s “POWER” which can deliver them from SIN, they have become those who are “Tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of DOCTRINE, by the TRICKERY of men, in the CUNNING craftiness of DECEITFUL plotting” (Ephesians 4:14).
This kind of “DECEITFUL plotting” which Paul is talking about is something which is always masterminded by Satan. And due to this “CUNNING craftiness” of Satan by which he attempts to “pervert” the gospel of CHRIST, Paul was “AFRAID” for the Christians in Corinth that they may lose their FAITH. Therefore he told them, “But I FEAR, lest somehow, as the Serpent (Satan) DECEIVED Eve by his craftiness, so your MINDS may be CORRUPTED from the SIMPLICITY that is in CHRIST” (2 Corinthians 11:3).
This is the current situation of Christianity as it stands now. When Paul talks about “the SIMPLICITY that is in CHRIST,” he is talking about the fact that “The gospel of JESUS CHRIST the Son of God” (Mark 1:1), is a very SIMPLE gospel. This is because we didn’t do anything or contributed to His SALVATION, but He did everything to SAVE us.
But Satan has taken away “POWER” and “LIFE” from the Christian churches, and therefore even if somebody is a Christian, he is not SAVED from his SINS, but rather he is still a SINNER. That’s why JESUS told the Church of Sardis, “I know your works, that you have a name that you are ALIVE, but your are DEAD” (Revelation 3:1b). Therefore many Christian churches are “DEAD” like this, and they have become “Slaves of SIN” because they don’t believe in the “POWER” of God’s RIGHTEOUSNESS.
However the Scripture tells us clearly that “POWER and MIGHT” belongs to God. That’s why God said in Isaiah, “Indeed before the day was, I am He; And there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I WORK, and who will REVERSE it?” (Isaiah 43:13).
Satan cannot “REVERSE” the baptism of JESUS by which He accepted our SINS upon Himself, and he cannot “REVERSE” the death of JESUS on the Cross by which He shed His blood for the judgment of our SINS, and neither can he “REVERSE” the resurrection of CHRIST. This is why God declares His “POWER” saying, “I WORK, and who will REVERSE it?”
This is the “POWER” that has SAVED us and “given” to us.




Eric Aboadwe
August 21, 2017 ·

POWER, LOVE & SOUND MIND (Part 5)

Our Scripture reading is taken once again from 2 Timothy where it says:
“For God has NOT given us a spirit of FEAR, but of POWER and of LOVE and of SOUND MIND” (2 Timothy 1:7).

Today is our final study of the topic under study. Therefore having studied in detail about the “POWER” which God has given us, we will now focus on the “LOVE” and “SOUND MIND” to bring our study into conclusion.

But regarding the “SOUND MIND,” we have already studied it under two different topics titled “HOW TO OBTAIN A PURE CONSCIENCE” and “THE ANSWER OF A GOOD CONSCIENCE.” These two titles are the same as “SOUND MIND.” This is because when you have a “PURE” or “GOOD CONSCIENCE,” then you have a “SOUND MIND.”

So those who missed these two titles can make a personal request and I will make it available to them. But for now, our attention will be centred on the “LOVE” which God has “given us.” Therefore if the Word of God says that God has given us “LOVE,” then what kind of “LOVE” is this, and how did we obtained this “LOVE?”

First of all we must all know that when we are SAVED from the eternal punishment of “hell,” it is then that we come to understand that God is “LOVE.” Anybody who is still a SINNER has not yet discovered God’s “LOVE” irrespective of how long he or she has been a Christian.

The most popular quotation which any Christian can quote at verbatim is “For God so LOVE the world that He gave His only begotten SON, that whoever BELIEVES in Him should not PERISH but have EVERLASTING LIFE” (John 3:16). But it is rather unfortunate that many Christians know this quotation only on paper (as written or printed), but they don’t actually understand this “LOVE” of the Father.

The sad thing however is that even though the Scripture says here clearly that it is the “LOVE” of God which SAVED us from PERISHING in “hell” and which gave us “EVERLASTING LIFE,” many Christians have been deceived by some STRANGE “doctrines” which says that if they keep the “LAW” very well and they don’t commit SINS, then they will not “PERISH” but they will have “EVERLASTING LIFE.”

This is how Satan twist the Scriptures to many Christians for their own destruction. As a result, God said that “My people are DESTROYED for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). Therefore Satan has his own version of John 3:16 which says, “For God so LOVE the world that He gave His holy LAW, that whoever KEEPS the LAW and does not commit SINS should not PERISH but have EVERLASTING LIFE” (False Doctrine 3:16).

This is how Satan has changed John 3:16 to many Christians, and he did that “to STEAL, to KILL and to DESTROY” the soul of ignorant Christians and religious people by leading them to the path of “destruction.” This is the reason why JESUS said that Satan is “A MURDERER from the beginning, and does not stand in the TRUTH, because there is NO TRUTH in him. When he speaks a LIE, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a LIAR and the father of it” (John 8:44).

Therefore the reason why many religious people are “destroyed” is because they “lack” the CORRECT knowledge of the “TRUTH” about God’s “LOVE” which gives us the “Remission of SINS” and the “gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).

God’s “LOVE” is “unconditional,” and it is completely different from human “Love.” And as some of you know, the word “LOVE” can be categorized into four (4) main types. We have the PHILIA LOVE which is the love between friends. Then we have the EUROS LOVE which is the love that exist between couples. And we have the STORGE LOVE which is the love that exist among family members such as parent and child, and siblings. Then we have mysterious AGAPE LOVE of God

All the first three types of “LOVE” such as Philia, Euros, and Storge are conditional, sensual and they can fade away. For example, sexual attraction fades, and the “LOVE” of your family member can end if you do something wrong beyond what they can bear. But God’s AGAPE LOVE which was revealed by the sacrificial work of CHRIST through His birth, baptism, death, and resurrection is UNILATERAL (not based on what you do, but on what God does), and it is “ETERNAL,” and it does not FADE away.

Therefore when the Apostle John says that “Behold what MANNER of LOVE the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called CHILDREN OF GOD” (1 John 3:1), we must know that he is talking about the AGAPE LOVE of God the Father. The phrase “MANNER of LOVE” means that this type of “LOVE” is completely different from any other “LOVE” exhibited by human beings, and it is UNMEASURABLE.

It is this “LOVE” which saved us from “hell” through the “water and the blood” of JESUS CHRIST. This “LOVE” gave us the qualification to be called “CHILDREN OF GOD” as stated by Apostle John. This is very important because John who spoke about “what MANNER of LOVE the Father has bestowed on us” is the very same person who tells us that JESUS “came by WATER and BLOOD” (1 John 5:6) to give us this “LOVE.”

This explains the reason why Christians who do not know or understand the “WATER” of JESUS baptism cannot see the COMPLETENESS of God’s “LOVE,” and they condemned themselves as SINNERS who are not “New creatures in CHRIST,” but they are still “Old Creatures” who have turned the Word of God in 2 Corinthians 5:17 into a “lie.”

Therefore when JESUS says that “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is BORN AGAIN of WATER and SPIRIT, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God” (John 3:5), then we must know that God “bestowed” His “LOVE” of the “WATER and the SPIRIT” on us through JESUS CHRIST so that we should be called “CHILDREN OF GOD” in order to enter the “Kingdom of God.”

God is “LOVE,” and He was born by the Virgin to reveal this “LOVE,” and he received “BAPTISM” to reveal this “LOVE,” and He died on the Cross to reveal this “LOVE,” and He resurrected to reveal His “LOVE” for us. Any Christian doctrine that omits or remove any of these works of God, will be talking about the “LOVE” of God in empty shell.

God’s “LOVE” gives us the remission of SINS once and for all, and it grant us to be “Sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise who is the GUARANTEE of our inheritance” (Ephesians 1:13-14). That’s why the Apostle Paul spoke about “The LOVE of the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 15:30).

Therefore when a person believes in the birth of JESUS CHRIST, His baptism by which He took away “the SIN of the world,” His death on the Cross, and His resurrection, God “bestows” this “LOVE” on that person. That’s why in our main Scripture reading, the Apostle Paul was saying that God has “given us LOVE.”

Our study continues under a different topic.

It is a great BLESSING to receive the “LOVE” of God.